The window covering system known as a mini blind has become increasingly popular with home owners, and others, such as occupants of business offices, in recent years. A typical mini blind includes a plurality of individual slats, often about one inch in width and formed of either metal or plastic, a head rail assembly from which the slats are suspended, the head rail assembly containing part of the mechanism for raising and lowering the blind, and a bottom rail, one of whose purposes, in addition to providing a pleasing aesthetic appearance, is to form an anchoring base for the blind raising and lowering, and tilting, mechanisms.
Two problems which are common to all such blinds are (1) ensuring that the head rail is securely maintained in place, and particularly that it not tend to move forwardly under the stresses encountered in use and (2) ensuring that the upper end of the blind, and particularly the head rail, presents a pleasing and decorative appearance to the eye of the viewer. Valance systems intended to cover the head rail and upper parts of a mini blind have been developed but none are deemed totally satisfactory. Specifically, many valance systems require a secondary stop or some action to restrict the head rail to its intended placement after installation. Further, many valances are of fixed length and hence are not adaptable to the new type of mini blind which is cut to a customer's exact specification in a store, and thus the desired aesthetic appearance is not achieved. Further, in some current systems, clips or brackets are exposed to the eye of the viewer at the conclusion of installation which again detracts from the desired aesthetic appearance.